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58 | M REPORT SECONDARY MARKET THE LATEST O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T Home Buying Confidence Shifts Breaking down the HPSI: Buyers are more confident than renters. F annie Mae's Home Pur- chase Sentiment Index (HPSI) for December reported a 1.7 point decline in home-purchase sentiment fol- lowing three consecutive months of increases, the researchers said. The HPSI stands at 80 points for November, a 11.5 point drop since the same time the previous year. The decline in the HPSI can be attributed to net decreases in three components: mortgage rate out- look, job loss concern, and buying conditions. Three components saw net increases: home price outlook, change in household income, and selling conditions. "The HPSI appears to have peaked for now as consum- ers continue to consider how COVID-19 impacts their ability to buy or sell a home," said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. "This follows the HPSI's recovery of slightly more than half of the loss experienced during the first few months of the pandemic." "Drilling down a bit, home purchase confidence has recovered more for homeowners than for renters, in part because homeown- ers have been less likely than rent- ers to have had their jobs and fi- nances impacted by the pandemic," Duncan continued. "Interestingly, the gap between the HPSI broken out by the homeowner and renter subgroups hit a survey high in August but, despite narrowing slightly, remains elevated and well above the survey average." Some other highlights related to HPSI indicators for the month of November 2020: » The net share of Americans who say it is a good time to buy decreased three percentage points—the percentage of respon- dents who say it is a good time to buy a home decreased from 60% to 57%, while the percentage who say it is a bad time to buy remained the same at 35%. » The net share of those who say it is a good time to sell in- creased two percentage points— the percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to sell a home remained the same at 59%, while the percentage who say it's a bad time to sell decreased from 35% to 33%. » The net share of Americans who say home prices will go up increased eight percentage points month over month—the percentage of respondents who say home prices will go up in the next 12 months increased this month from 40% to 41%, while the percentage who say home prices will go down decreased from 20% to 13%. The share who think home prices will stay the same increased from 31% to 35%. » The net share of Americans who say mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months decreased 14 percentage points month over month—the percent- age of respondents who say mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months decreased from 11% to 8%, while the per- centage who expect mortgage rates to go up increased from 32% to 43%. The share who think mortgage rates will stay the same decreased from 49% to 40%. » The net share of Americans who say they are not concerned about losing their job decreased six percentage points month over month—the percentage of respondents who say they are not concerned about losing their job in the next 12 months de- creased from 79% to 76%, while the percentage who say they are concerned increased from 21% to 24%. » The net share of those who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago increased three percentage points month over month—the percentage of respondents who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago increased from 23% to 24%, while the percentage who say their household income is significantly lower decreased from 20% to 18%. The percentage who say their household income is about the same increased from 55% to 57%.